The Early brain development group (EBD) investigates normal and aberrant brain development throughout childhood and adolescence. The group's research is focused on structural brain development, structure-function relationships in the human brain, and  cognitive development throughout childhood and adolescence, as well as early development of moral cognition and social evaluation.
 
One major avenue of research for the EBD group is brain development in individuals born preterm (before 37 completed weeks of gestation) with very low birth weight (VLBW; less than 1500g). Preterm birth is a significant perinatal health problem across the globe, associated with increased mortality and long-term morbidity, including motor, cognitive and behavioral difficulties, as well as reduced educational and professional attainment. The EBD group collaborates with the NTNU VLBW Life study and the Early Prediction and Outcome in Preterm Infants study (The EPOP study), using MRI technology to study brain structure in relation to brain function in a developmental perspective. In a series of publications, the collaboration with NTNU Life has documented deviant brain structure in individuals born preterm with VLBW, including regional reductions of cortical surface area, reduced volumes of subcortical brain structures, and aberrant regional patterns of cortical thickness. These structural deviations have been linked to measures of general intelligence, executive and verbal functions, and visuomotor processing. The putative association between brain structure and compromised brain function in preterm birth is a main interest for the EBD group. 

Another topic of interest is the development of central nervous system processing speed and executive functions, such as working memory. The EBD group uses electrophysiological measures (EEG) to study the relationship between processing speed, working memory, and general cognitive ability in children, adolescents, and young adults. Finally, the EBD group takes an interest in the development of social and moral cognition in children. A current research project looks at early development of social evaluation in infants and toddlers, with data collection in Norway and future plans to expand this investigation to other cultural contexts (such as Indonesia and China).